Tica Bus

The next morning I took a solo taxi ride to the TicaBus bus terminal. Everything went very smoothly. I checked my luggage and waited to board. I clearly was not dressed appropriately and have never been so cold in my entire life!! The AC was basically like being at home in winter!! I had on shorts and a t-shirt.. it was horrible. I was seated in the front with a cute old lady from Nicaragua.

After about 3 hours we were stopped and told we had to wait an hour which then turned into 2 hours... It was probably not the best day to travel as they were celebrating their independence and we were supposedly waiting for the parade... which we never saw?? Was a little confused about that situation and the little old lady next to me was not pleased. While waiting I talked with two girls from London that were traveling and had a nice time getting to know them.

The rest of the ride to Granada went smoothly and the border crossing went well. At one point they took our passports to get them stamped for us.. that was a little scary handing my passport to someone but everyone else was doing it and I did get it back! Whefta!! Listened to music along the way and watched movies.. it was a little to swervy and bumpy to get any real reading or writing done.

First Solo!

It came time for me to renew my visa again! Instead of returning to Panama, I decided to venture on up to Nicaragua. I was relatively scared and not sure what my plans were. I decided to spend a night in San Jose before taking off at 6 a.m. for my bus to Nica.

I must say for not planning the trip at all... it went extremely well. I bought my ticket that morning to go to San Jose. Had a nice bus ride where I ran into a girl named Katherine I had around 4 months before. She had gone back to England and had just come back to go work on the Pacific side at another turtle conservation.

After arriving in San Jose, I walked with a guy I had just met to the hostel. I realized that maybe hadn't been the best idea.. yet it went smoothly and he was very kind. I then walked around the town a bit with him.. went and bought my bus ticket the same afternoon I had arrived in San Jose.

Went back to the hostel where I ran into a couple I had previously met in Cahuita while working. I sat and had a few drinks with them before retiring to my room since I had to rise at 4:30 the next morning. SOOo early. I stayed at Hostel Pangea and was rooming with 3 other girls who were traveling around Central America and were from Israel.

Saying Bye to Friends... Again!

It came time to yet again say good bye to people I have seen daily for around 2 months. Luckily they were amazing people to spend time with and get to know! They are back in California now and back to their same old routine!! They had excellent vibes and energy and were such a pleasure to be around. One of the woman had a beautiful daughter named Paloma.. she was so sweet, would come in to use Internet and tell us all she had to check her emails! It was the most adorable thing ever. They are all definitely missed here.. I know Cahuita can't wait to have them come back!

Patty

This is what I look forward to every weekend! It is called Patty... or Pattie? We aren't exactly sure on the spelling since people here spell things how they want to. Sooo whichever spelling you would prefer. This is a little tasty deliciousness in my mouth! My favorite is the meat patty but they also do fried plantain and pineapple. They are all very great. They sell them at this little stand every weekend. They also sell rice and beans which I have yet to try! It is on my list of things to do before I leave this area!! Ohh how the time is flying... very sad, yet very exciting Look forward to a picture of the rice and beans!

The Original Willie from Willie's Tours

Look at this wonderful man here. This man, much to my surprise is Willie... as in Willie from Willie's Tours... the original if you will. This is the man that is apparently racist and has a strong opinion about everything. This little man right here! He sold the company to my boss Jorge and now he is currently living in Panama!

I was so excited to meet him.. he was a hoot to be around!! Except when he came back so drunk that he fell and hit his head on the corner of my desk! I was so nervous... I thought oh my gosh this old man is going to have a concussion.. pass out and who am I going to call?? There is no nearby hospital and it takes the police forever to do anything... I think it would be faster for me to run to the police station then for them to come and answer on a problem. Luckily.. he stood and walked out just fine... I did however not see him again.. which concerned me.. He phoned after he returned to Panama and was ehh ok! Apparently some old habits die hard!!!

The Big Move

Two weeks ago, a woman named Pam decided she would be leaving and returning to Canada for a total for four months. She asked if I would be interested in house sitting and when I told her I would be moving home in November she said it wouldn't work out. SOOOO Jorge and Nona have moved into her house. and I have moved into town.




This was a hard decision for me to make... I went between happiness and money, to money, to this is part of my adventure! Soo on the first of September I made my journey into town and am now living at work!

It was hard to leave my little paradise... and it was paradise... but some things happen for a reason and work out in the end. As sad as I am, there are positives and negatives to all situations and something good will come out of me living in town. I will get to stay in town rent free and now actually have Internet all the time... which is both good and bad :) I took so many pictures of my little house.. what I did there, what it looked like.. It will be fun to look back in a few months and remember. I posted just a few to show you guys... and a sad one of me moving! Luckily it all happened so fast since I worked that afternoon as well that I did not have time to dwell on the moment, but just continue living and moving on. Change is still not a strong area of mine!! Working on it!

In town I am living in the space behind work. There are two bedrooms, a kitchen and two bathrooms. I have a private bedroom and bathroom and am keeping the second bedroom open for flexibility purposes. Here is a look at my new bedroom.

Non Stop

After Nicole left, Troy's sister and husband arrived. I was exhausted from going non stop and then the non stopness continued. I worked in the afternoon and after finishing at 8, went and met Troy, Heather and Morgan at Cha Cha Cha. They were in the middle of having dinner, so I just joined for a cocktail.

We then went to Coco's to, the highway bar... to Reggae bar and back to Playa Negra to swim in the pool. Playa Negra is a beautiful cabina here in Cahuita. I had always wanted to go look inside and was greatly impressed with what they had done with the space. I would recommend anyone to stay there.

We all talked and had a great time.. I had to be a loser and call it quits early since I was working a 10 hour shift the next day!

Morgan and Heather were a great time and full of energy. I could barely keep up with them the entire time they were visiting.. I was always the sober one!! We went out to Coco Rico's for their last night in town and had a marvelous dinner together. I was very pleased that I got to meet part of Troy's family. I always love seeing people interacting with those they love most. All in all the party never seems to stop here.. and everything seems to work out perfectly. LOVE IT.